“Me too,” Miquel said, waiting his turn. He gave her a quick hug, full of all the reserve and detachment she’d come to knowand love about the man. “What happened? Where were you all this time?”
“Pull up a chair, boys. This is going to be a long story,” Britt said. Over the next couple of hours, she filled them in on everything from the car bomb to hiding out in St. Felipe after breaking free of the underground facility. She kept Paloma and Lachlan out of her story. No mention of Stingray Security or the last few weeks living with Lachlan.
Miquel looked at her intently. “So, the intel your father had on Lachlan was because you ran away with him to Dove Island.”
Alejandro cracked his neck and looked toward the ocean. A sly smile spread on Corey’s face at Alejandro’s discomfort. Corey never thought Alejandro was good enough for her.
Britt nodded. “Back then, I was spooked. I wanted to vanish and start a new life with him. But I was crazy to think it would work. Quattro is my life. Just like it was my father’s. There’s no running away from that.”
Miquel reached for her hand, a tenderness he rarely showed. “Your father had many regrets when we thought you were dead. Things he would go back and change if he could. I hate that … he isn’t here to have this moment with you. Like we are. He would’ve done anything to have you back, even respecting your wishes.”
Corey interrupted. “What Miquel is being too damn subtle to say is that if you want out of Quattro for good, we can make that happen.” He pulled his chair closer to her. “Britt, you were only a target because our enemies knew Titus was grooming you to take over the cartel. But a Britt with no memory of Quattro isn’t a threat. You’d be worthless to leverage against us. You can have the life you want… with Lachlan.
“You would do that for me?” Britt asked, overwhelmed by their willingness to upend the organization they’d dedicatedtheir lives to, to make a sacrifice that would be detrimental and risky to the cartel just to see her happy.
“Yes.” Alejandro cleared his throat. “We would.”
“But you would always be under our protection. Discreetly, to avoid raising any unwanted attention,” Miquel clarified.
“Quattro is better with you, Britt,” Corey said. “We want you with us. Leading us. But only if it’s what you want, too.”
“What if I don’t know what I want?” Britt admitted, unsure if she could actually have the life they were offering her. Could it be that simple? Or were they all delusional, hoping for something that could never be?
“Then we’ll give you time to figure it out,” Alejandro said. “There’s no rush?—”
A distant beep from the security system interrupted him, followed by the soft voice of the AI assistant announcing a perimeter check. Through the windows, armed guards patrolled the immaculate grounds, a reminder that the estate's beauty was built on violence and vigilance.
“But there is,” Britt reminded him. “Someone kidnapped me and wants me dead. I have no clue who he is or how to protect myself from him.”
“Quattro will protect you,” Miquel said, then exchanged a knowing glance with Corey and Alejandro. “And we’ll make them pay for everything they did to you.”
“Wait a minute. Do you know who did this to me?”
“Based on everything you’ve told us, I’m pretty sure we know who was behind faking your death and why,” Corey said.
Alejandro moved closer to her. “The area you mentioned escaping from in Little Turkey is a suspected blacksite.”
“A blacksite? Like run by the government?” Britt asked, the words tumbling from her lips.
“Quattro is a growing threat to the Palmchat Islands,” Corey said with a hint of pride. “And one they mistakenly believe willbe easier to eradicate than the PC-5. We have credible intel about an unauthorized blacksite run by rogue PISCO agents who believe vigilante warfare is the only way to battle the cartels. A few of our members have disappeared over the past year, and we believe they were taken to the blacksite. When the PISCOs couldn’t break them, they were killed.”
“It’s not clear if the military secretly sanctions these off-the-books ops,” Miquel added. “But one thing is true—they fucked with the wrong cartel when they went after you. And we’ll make sure they know it.”
“We’ll mobilize our best team over the next few days and hit them hard. The blacksite will be destroyed, and we’ll make sure the PISCOs feel a world of pain for what they did to you,” Alejandro said.
Her father had built this fortress not just as an affluent retreat but as a command center disguised in paradise. The basement levels housed enough communications equipment and weaponry to wage a small war—which was precisely what they were about to do.
“I just have one request,” Britt said, a new plan formulating in her mind.
“You’re the boss. What is it?” Corey asked.
“I need Hunter back. I want him leading the team,” Britt said.
The uncomfortable glances exchanged between the three men were expected, but it didn’t change her request.
“As you wish,” Miquel said, then led the others out of her room.
Hunter would do the one thing that these three wouldn’t—provide a gateway for her to get revenge on The Visitor.
